The shuttle service we had organised to take us to the trailhead got the wrong day and turned up this morning. They were not sure if they would be going tomorrow so Emi got on to her list of contacts. Within an hour she had found someone that would take us to the trailhead and so we could stay for another day. 

As the B&B was full for the night, Emi asked if we would like to try her new place that is still under renovation but has one room ready to go. We of course said yes and packed up our stuff and moved over to the basement rooming in the Yellow house. The room was beautifully decorated and was a great place to stay. 

We hung around town enjoying the time off the trail and in the evening we went to the Legion Park for the live music and free food. The sky was looking dark and the start of the music was delayed for a short time while a rain squall passed over. We joined the long line of locals to get our free hot dog. 

The first band consisted of two banjo players and while they played were a lot of fun. Unfortunately the rain and wind came back and they had to leave the stage. As the wind picked up and rain came in people started leaving and so we got to move into a nice sheltered spot next to facilities block. The rain quickly passed and the next band came on, Jalan Crossland. They were a great and very lively act and soon had the crowd up and celebrating, as you should, for the 4th of July. 

Dan had a couple of new friends, Jay and Bret, arrive today and they all turned up and joined us in the shelter of the wall while we watched the band. We had a great talk with Jay and when we got on to bicycles he tells us that his brother Tim was a champion mountain biker in the 55 to 59 year age group. 

We also met two Germany Cyclists and an American woman riding the CDT and spent a good hour with them chatting about cycling and the trail. 

After the music finished fireworks were scheduled and we thought we would walk to the grocery store while waiting and pickup a couple of snacks. The car park of the grocery store was lined with families tail gating while waiting for the show. We grabbed our snacks and joined them. While waiting for the show to start we heard someone call out. We turned around to see Gabe hanging out the window of the fire truck waving to us as they drove past. 

Gabe is Emi’s friend and a great guy.   He is a soil conservationist who graduated from CSU.  He does triathlons and we really enjoyed talking with him.  We met him at a dinner Emi hosted at her house and we hope that one day they will visit us in Colorado so that we can reciprocate.

Our visit in Pinedale has been a great one and to celebrate the Fourth of July here was a treat and a real privilege. I have been to a lot of places in the world but and I am sure the US is the friendliest and most welcoming of them all. 

​​